Per Brad Turner of the LA Times, LA Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers and President Lawrence Frank had dinner with UFA Kyle O’Quinn Tuesday night.
According to the LA Times’ Brad Turner, LA Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank had dinner with Kyle O’Quinn last night.
O’Quinn, 28, became an unrestricted free agent this summer after declining his player option with the New York Knicks. The 6-10 big man averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds across 18 minutes per game last season.
The Clippers have been in the hunt for O’Quinn for quite some time, along with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans. Since trading for Marcin Gortat, the Clippers have also been rumored to be pursuing Amir Johnson.
O’Quinn could be a savvy buy for Los Angeles. A former second-round pick in 2012, he’s a relatively efficient center that can stretch the floor. Although the largest volume of his shots come within three feet, O’Quinn shot over 50% from 16 feet inward last season. In addition, he was able to knock down roughly 24% of three-point attempts. That’s not a fantastic number, but that’s more range than Gortat and Boban Marjanovic display.
LA currently lacks a rangy big, and O’Quinn could easily fill that role for a small price. His last contract with the Knicks was worth just over $16 million across four years.
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The Clippers appear to be making an effort to stockpile bigs now that DeAndre Jordan has committed to playing in Dallas. A rotation of Gortat-O’Quinn-Marjanovic is arguably more impressive than what LA ran last season, and could allow for a larger variety of rotations. Depending on the opponent, the Clippers could start any of their three centers, or go small with Montrezl Harrell.
No deal with O’Quinn is imminent, but if the Clippers made a move to add him, it wouldn’t be a surprise.